Venezuela: Tanks, helicopters, 4 dead

Socialism for the 21st Century headlines,

Plaza Venezuela rodeada de carros de tanquetas y ballenas. #LaSalida #13F pic.twitter.com/bmiA9CjZcM

— ☆☆☆Sσy☆Vηєzσℓαησ☆☆☆ (@SoyVnezolano) February 13, 2014

Today: Venezuela Unleashes Tanks as 4 Killed, 1,200 Arrested (emphasis added)

Police and National Guard killed four suspects Tuesday during a wide raid in Western Caracas that involved tanks and helicopters, as Venezuela also underwent the rare climate phenomenon known as a “solar halo.”

“As has been the request of our people, we have deployed OLP New Phase in 4 areas of Caracas,” tweeted Interior Minister Gustavo Gonzalez as the operation began unfolding. Local media said eight suspected criminals were killed during the operation, but Gonzalez spoke only of four killed when resisting police action. Some 400 vehicles were used during the operation, ranging from motorcycles to tanks and choppers.

The purpose of the raid, Gonzalez said was to “eradicate organized crime” and “the paramilitary.” Venezuelan government officials frequently blame the country’s high crime rate on right-wing paramilitary groups supposedly originated in Colombia and affiliated with the local anti-Maduro opposition, a charge the opposition has denied and the government failed to prove conclusively.
. . .
State television said 3,200 security personnel were deployed in the operation, called “OLP” by the government, the Spanish language acronym of “Operations for the Liberation of the People.” OLP’s are a forceful, wide raid implemented on high crime areas of Venezuela that have been criticized for their high casualty rates, both for police and suspects.

Follow-up post: Venezuela: Capriles pepper-sprayed

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